Susan "Susie" Mabrito

Susie Mabrito always considered her family her greatest accomplishment. She was a loving wife, mother, and grandma, and in the warm company of her family a familiar smile always brimmed over her lips. 1916 was a chaotic year. After a German U-Boat sunk an American passenger ship, President Wilson led his country into the First World War amid the chant, "Remember the Lusitania!" Amid this climate of uncertainty, George and Susan Micka maintained their optimistic spirit by focusing on a different future, the future of their family. They were expecting their first child. On April 13, 1916 they were blessed with the healthy birth of their daughter Susie. Long before Susie was born, the her parents had emigrated from Czechoslovakia and settled in Michigan. Susie's mother never learned to read or write because in her homeland she had to work each day in the fields. George Micka arrived in America at the age of seventeen. He found a job at the foundries in MKG, where he would continue to work until his death at age 72. The family was one of the first to settle in Cloverville, now a part of Fruitport. Many roads are named after them, such as "George Street" and "Micka Street." Susie grew up on the family farm with the company of her younger siblings George, Emil, and Margaret. She attended Beach Elementary until the eighth grade. She left school to work on the farm where the family raised pigs, cows, horses, and chickens. She was responsible for selling milk to the local dairy. Although the farm kept her busy, she also worked at a shop in town. On June 24, 1939, at the age of twenty-three, Susie married the love of her life, Orest Marshall Mabrito. She continued to work during the first year of her marriage. When her eldest child Shirley was born in 1940, she devoted herself entirely to her tasks as a mother. Susie and Orest were blessed with five more children. John was born in 1941, followed by Arlene in 1945, Richard in 1946, Arnold in 1948, and Tony in 1954. When John was twelve years old, he stepped on a nail and contracted lockjaw and pneumonia. His death was extremely hard on Susie, and she cried for many years. Her son, Arnold, died in 1984. In both cases, her strong faith in the Lord helped her through her grief. Throughout her adult life she was an active member of Sullivan Community Church. She always wore T-shirts and sweatshirts that proclaimed her faith. She would often ask to have religious verses put on shirts. One of her favorites was: " Jesus is alive today/ You ask me how I know/ Everywhere I see his love/ And this is how I know." Christmas was Susie's favorite time of the year. Each year the family would rent out Sullivan Township Hall. Susie would start shopping months in advance to get the best deals on plates, napkins, and other party goods. She was a very thrifty woman. Susie would only buy something if it was on sale. Meijer's was one of her favorite places to find a bargain. If lettuce was thirty-nine cents per head, everyone at the table would get an entire head. "Next week its going to be more," she would explain. Her only extravagance was bird feed. She annually purchased 450 pounds of feed to operate three birdfeeders she had in her yard. In summer, she would hang five hummingbird feeders. The hummingbirds grew so accustomed to Susie that she could stand right next to them during feedings. The Mabrito Family was a closely knit unit. Susie deeply loved her children, and she cherished all the time that she spent in their company. Her sons Rich and Tony turned the family's chicken coop into a garage where they continue to run a successful mechanics business. She cooked lunch for them every day. She would finish her breakfast, then start chopping vegetables and peeling potatoes. She loved baking for them. Many customers at the garage got the treat of her pies, cookies, and cupcakes. For the last month that Susie has spent in the hospital, her daughters have filled her position at the garage. One of Susie's sons likes to say, "It takes two of you to do what Mom did alone every day." He also adds the joke: "No gravy?" Doing all that cooking, it's no wonder that Susie loved to go out for dinner. Applebee's was one of her favorite restaurants. A favorite gift she received was a gift certificate for the restaurant. Susie would finish dinner and then ask, "Okay, how much do I have left?" Susie was extremely patriotic. She bought flags and stickers for everyone in the family, and she was proud of the patriotic blanket that her grandson sent her from his station in Iraq. She never missed an election. She was a staunch Democrat who took her responsibility to vote seriously. This past Tuesday was the first time that she ever used an absentee ballot. The next day she asked her family, "Democrats still there, right?" Ever the good citizen--and Democrat, Susie told a friend who was visiting, "Your vote counted. The Democrats won." Susie was blessed with excellent health. Prior to this last month, she had only been hospitalized once, in 1984. She hated to go the doctor. She'd see him and say, "Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong." When he would leave, she would ask her kids, "What'd he say?" Family was Susie's most valuable possession. She and her granddaughter Robin would frequently say, "I love you 100%." Even her great-granddaughter Kerri uses this saying. Susie felt this way about her entire family. She loved her husband, children, and grandkids 100%. Among the many people whose hearts she touched, she will be greatly missed and frequently remembered. Mrs. Susan "Susie" Mabrito, age 90, died Friday, November 10, 2006. She was born in Muskegon, MI on April 13, 1916 to George & Susan Micka and married Orest Mabrito in July of 1939. She was a member of Sullivan Community Church. Mrs. Mabrito is survived by 2 sons, Richard (Robin) Mabrito of Fruitport, Tony (Nancy) Mabrito of Fruitport; 2 daughters, Shirley (Terry) Hamel of Muskegon, Arlene Gue of Muskegon; 16 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren & 11 great-great grandchildren; sister, Margaret Stidham of Muskegon. She was preceded in death by her husband, Orest Mabrito, 2 sons, John Mabrito & Arnold Mabrito, 1 grandson, James Mabrito, 2 brothers, George Micka & Emil Micka. Services will be held Monday, November 13, 2006, 1:00 PM at Clock Chapel with Rev. John Romanowski officiating. Interment at Mona View Cemetery. You may visit the family on Sunday, 2-5 PM, at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to Sullivan Community Church. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book.